It has long been observed that tying together two ropes with knots is both time consuming and unreliable. Unless expertly tied, many common rope-connecting knots will become loose and slip with the passage of time.
Accordingly, inventors have developed numerous devices having utility in connecting together rope ends in the absence of knots.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,594,742 to Garner shows a rope connector having a pair of mating jaws that are selectively latched to hold a pair of ropes that run in parallel bores along the entire extent of a rope clamp. An insert accommodates different rope diameters. U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,529,257 to Lampl and 1,708,470 are also of interest, as is German patent no. 255,827. U.S. Pat. No. 3,896,527 to Miller et al. adds a latch mechanism having serrations or teeth for adjustably closing the jaws of the Miller et al. device. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,970,353 to Stone and 3,320,958 to Nolan are also of interest for their disclosure of mating sets of serrations, projections or teeth for adjustable locking of the latching means.
These and other devices have utility in connecting ropes in the absence of knots. However, the user of these devices must pay some attention to the rope-connecting process. Since the major purpose of a rope-connecting device is to save time, any time spent on aligning the rope and its connector detracts from the value of the device. What is needed is a rope-connecting device that enables its user to connect ropes together in an instant, and to just as quickly release the connector when desired. The prior art, considered as a whole in accordance with the requirements of law, neither teaches nor suggests how such a device could be built.